NOT happy, but expected ending

As Winston finally cracked down on his fear of rats, he chose to betray Julia. From this scene, I expected that he wouldn't ever go back to his normal life and I assumed that Julia and his relationship would end.

However, it was still hard to see this lifestyle playout for Winston. The reason why this is not a happy ending is that although Winston didn't die, he was left with such a small piece of himself. Honestly, I still can't decide if living as an empty shell of who you used to be is better than dying.

What do you guys think of this ending? Is Winston's life good now? He is an alcoholic and still seems miserable. Wouldn't it be so hard to live after going through months of torture and having your identity taken away?

Comments

The spectrum of promiscuity

In Brave New World, we see people pressured and conditioned into being very open about their sexuality and erotic behaviors. Monogamy is looked down upon and one is viewed unfavorably if they stick to a sexual partner (how people looked at Lenina). I thought it was really interesting how in 1984, the opposite idea spread throughout the party and its followers. Winston’s thoughts about desiring sex was seen as rebellious and something that no one in the party thought about (although there were people who had secret encounters with prole prostitutes). What do you guys think about the drastic differences in how each book portrays sexuality and promiscuity? Does the society in brave new world model our current societal views on sex? Or is our culture more similar to 1984? I think that in the US -- especially in the current younger generation --, the concept of dating and sex is not as “improper” as before. We often see this modelled in social media, tv shows...

Conquering Winston's MIND

I find these chapters of 1984 so depressing, not only because of the physical torture itself but because O'Brien used Winston's fear to take over Winston's mind. Throughout the weeks of O'Brien torturing Winston, I was surprised to see Winston fight back at some moments. Even after getting shocked dozens of times, starved, brutally beaten up, "supposedly" betrayed by Julia, his emotions and inner heart had stayed true to what he believed. I admired how he refused to let go of reality, love, and how he refused to betray Julia. Therefore, I find it somewhat ironic and depressing that Winston gave up this inner heart and will to survive because of his fear of rats. He survived through other horrible things, but in the end, he couldn't overcome his mind. (Start video @ 1 min) I completely understand Winston -- I hate rats as well, especially if they eat your face--, but I feel like Orwell purposely chose a personal attack on Winston. This ...

Conditioned or manufactured?

While starting 1984, I noticed an interesting difference between Brave New World and this book. In Brave New World, it was known to readers that people were "manufactured" and designed in a specific way that forced an individual to follow a certain path. For example, some people were born as alphas while others were born as gammas or deltas. As people were born into this world they were instantly met with expectations, designated jobs, etc. It was interesting to me that Winston wasn’t born into a specific role in society and that no one was really “above” someone else or inferior to others (except for the proles). Despite how brave new world’s environment and 1984 differed, both stories have people pushing strong beliefs onto everybody else. If you were to be a character in this story, would you rather be in brave new world (where you are manufactured and designed to live a certain life) or be in 1984 (where you are heavily conditioned to live a certain ...

Grace Analyzing Utopian and Dystopian Novels

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